is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

in Nishi-sugamo,

Toshima, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The university was founded in the last year of the Taishō period (1926) by merging the three Buddhist colleges. The three were: * the Tendai-shū College (, ''Tendai-shū daigaku', founded in 1885), * the Buzan College (, ''Buzan daigaku'', founded in 1887 and funded by

Shingon-shū Buzan-ha is a sect of new school of Shingon Buddhism (新義真言宗 Shingi Shingon-shū) founded in the 16th century by the priest {{nihongo, Senyo Sōjō, 専誉僧正. The main Buzan-ha temple is Hase-dera in Sakurai, Nara. While the reformed Shingon ...

), and * the Religious College (, ''Shūkyō daigaku'', founded in 1887 and funded by

Jōdo-shū Jōdo-shū (浄土宗, "The Pure Land School"), is a Japanese branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Kamakura era monk Hōnen (1133–1212). The school is traditionally considered as having been established in 1175 and i ...

). Its school precepts are based on the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

school of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. The concept for the university began when five doctors—

Junjiro Takakusu , who often published as J. Takakusu, was a Japanese academic, an advocate for expanding higher education opportunities, and an internationally known Buddhist scholar.

Masaharu Anesaki , also known under his pen name , was a leading Japanese intellectual and scholar of the Meiji period. Anesaki is credited as being the father of religious studies in Japan, but also wrote on a variety of subjects including culture, literature, an ...

, Eun Maeda, Senshō Murakami and

Masataro Sawayanagi was a Japanese educator, academic administrator and government official. Biography He was selected as a member of the House of Peers in 1909. In 1911, he became the first president of Tohoku University in Sendai City. In 1913, he was appointed t ...

—who were leaders of Buddhist society in Japan, proposed creating a Buddhist university union.

Undergraduate school

The undergraduate school consists of the Faculty of Regional Development, Faculty of Psychology and Sociology, Faculty of Human Studies, Faculty of Literature, Faculty of Communication and Culture, and Faculty of Buddhist Studies.

Graduate school

The graduate school offers Advanced Buddhist Studies, Advanced Human Studies, and Advanced Literary Studies.

Other programs

It has a one-year program in which up to 40 overseas students are admitted each year to a special course. This prepares them for enrollment in undergraduate or graduate programs at Japanese universities.

Locations

* Sugamo Campus (3-20-1, Nishi-sugamo,

Toshima is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and N ...

, Tokyo) * Saitama Campus ( Kita-Katsushika, Matsubushi, Saitama)

Partner organizations

Dongguk University Dongguk University () is a private university in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. A top-tier university acknowledged locally in Korea. It is one of the few Buddhist-affiliated universities in the world, and is a member of the International Asso ...

(

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

) *

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) *

Henan University Henan University (HENU; ) is a provincial public university in Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, Henan, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Henan and co-funded with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of the Double First-Class Const ...

(

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

) File:Taisho University (15230575378).jpg, The distinctive arched entrance File:Taisho University Saitama Campus.JPG, The university's Saitama campus File:Taisho University-old1.jpg, Old aerial photo of the university File:Taisho University Sugamo Campus.JPG, The university's

Sugamo is a neighborhood in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. It is home to , a shopping street popular among the older generation, earning it the nickname "Granny's Harajuku." It lies at the crossing point of the JR Yamanote Line and National Route 17. Availabl ...

campus

Notable alumni

* Yosuke Asari (actor) *

Kōji Fukada is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Tokyo, Fukada had a father who was a film aficionado and he watched many films on VHS when he was young. It was when he was 19 years old studying at Taisho University and discov ...

(film director) *

Kazue Fukiishi is a Japanese actress and former gravure idol. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 28th Yokohama Film Festival for ''What the Snow Brings'', ''Tegami'', and ''Memories of Tomorrow''. Career Fukiishi starred in Takuji Suzuki's '' ...

(actress)　 * Harue Koga (painter)

Access

The closest train stations to the Sugamo Campus are: * Nishi-sugamo Station (2 minutes' walk) * Shin-Koshinzuka Station or Koshinzuka Station (7 minutes' walk) *

Itabashi Station is a railway station on the Saikyo Line in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Itabashi Station is served by the Akabane Line between Ikebukuro and Akabane stations, which forms part of the Saikyo Line ...

(10 minutes' walk)

References

UniRank

External links

American Association of Teachers of Japanese
Toshima Private universities and colleges in Japan Taisho University Buddhist universities and colleges in Japan Universities and colleges established in 1926 1926 establishments in Japan Shingon School of Chiyama {{tokyo-university-stub